1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ATM exchange apparatus and to an ATM exchange method in the ATM exchange apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
One communication system for accommodating a plurality of types of data such as video data, audio data, and information processing data in a predetermined packet and exchanging and transmitting them together is the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) system. Use of this ATM system for connection of an information network for transmitting multimedia information and the plurality of multimedia apparatuses in the general home via an inexpensive ATM system exchange (ATM exchange) introduced into each home and provision of sophisticated multimedia information services is being considered.
On the other hand, in the ATM exchange, translation and replacement processing of the VC (virtual channel) and VP (virtual path) contained in the header of the ATM cell and processing for determining (routing) the output port of the ATM cell based on the virtual path identifier/virtual channel identifier (VPI/VCI) become necessary.
In order to carry out such processing, the ATM exchange is usually provided with translation memories. A translation memory is a special expensive apparatus having a VPI/VCI comparison function. Accordingly, a reduction of the capacity and number of the translation memories is indispensable for cheaply producing the ATM exchange and introducing the same into the home.